Vapor corrosion inhibitors (VCI) are volatile chemistries and eventually they diminish at the source to provide the necessary protection on valuable assets. Shipping and Storage Covers with vapor corrosion inhibitors are used to protect military equipment, wind energy assets and other high value industrial goods. This paper provides gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) testing and data on corrosion inhibitors. New and used protective covers with corrosion inhibitors; were tested to answer the end users concerns; if the VCIs last as long as the covers do; or do they deplete before the covers need replacement?
Military equipment must be mission ready at all times. These military assets may include military ground vehicles, weapon systems, support equipment and other deck equipment on naval ships. Metal parts contained in such equipment are subject to the effects of corrosion, a natural process.1 To mitigate corrosion damage on this equipment and meet readiness requirement, significant amount of efforts have been put by the armed forces. According to United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) report GAO-19-513 in May 2019; the cost impact of corrosion to Department of Defense (DoD) assets in fiscal year 2016 was $20.6 billion.2
Some of the traditional corrosion mitigation methods for these assets may include general-purpose warehouses, shed storage facilities, controlled humidity preservation (CHP) storage facilities, or heavy-duty tarps. However, they have their limitations in terms of accessibility and day-to-day use. Warehouses and storage facilities are not always available and accessible in every location. To build one requires a lot of capital and sometimes it is not even practical considering the size of the equipment. Heavy-duty tarps may be applicable on some cases, but custom fitted covers may be better suited on complex items.
Corrosion control covers have been used in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces including, USMC, Army, Navy, Airforce and National Guard, in various climates. In 2000, the US Navy started a small business innovation research (SBIR) funding to study and develop "Flexible Corrosion Preventative Coverings". The first-generation of protective covers with VCI technology was patented as US 6,444,595 in 2002.3 According to a United States Airforce (USAF) report published in 2008, after a year-long study of different corrosion protection methods, the first-generation advanced protective covers with VCI could provide up to 10 times better asset protection comparing with the traditional protective methods.4 Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA) approved the use of these protective covers for a variety of equipment ranging from weapon systems to deck equipment in 2003. 5 With the rapid technology developing in this field, a new generation of VCI covers emerged as providing more breathability, flexibility and durability against rough surfaces of military equipment in 2012. Two US patents, US 8,883,284 and US 8,828,487, were granted on this new technology.6 According to a paper on this new technology presented at Fleet Maintenance & Modernization Symposium (FMMS) in 2016; 7the US Navy was the first to use these protective covers and demand has steadily increased across the other military branches.
